


Strangers on a Plane

by sarahphym



Series: Pinto de Mayo 2020 Ficlets [2]
Category: Star Trek RPF
Genre: M/M, Pinto de Mayo, Writer!Chris, Writing Prompt, strangers on an international flight
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:28:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24024358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarahphym/pseuds/sarahphym
Summary: “Have you tried turning it off and on again?”The man looked at him, face flat and so clearly communicatingWhat the fuck dudethat Zach instantly felt bad.
Relationships: Chris Pine/Zachary Quinto
Series: Pinto de Mayo 2020 Ficlets [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1732996
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	Strangers on a Plane

**Author's Note:**

> this one got away from me, so i want to at least do a part 2. thanks to @voldiebuns for the prompt!

Zach closed his eyes, listening to the keyboard keys clacking from the window seat next to him and breathing in the smell of weak, burnt coffee.

“Goddammit.” A gravely snarl and a soft smack of a hand on metal.

Zach looked at his seat neighbor, “Everything okay?”

Shockingly blue eyes glanced up at him, probably had not realized he’d spoken aloud. “Sorry, yeah, no. It’s just my computer.” He gestured to his laptop, an older Macbook, clearly well-used.

“Have you tried turning it off and on again?”

The man looked at him, face flat and so clearly communicating _What the fuck dude_ that Zach instantly felt bad.

“Sorry, just a joke.” Zach grimaced. “But I would try restarting if it’s frozen like that.”

The man sighed, looked forlornly at his screen, then held down the power button. After a few seconds the whirring fan noise stopped, and the screen went black. He lifted his hand to turn it back on, but Zach reached out, completely without thought, and touched the man’s hand to stop him. “Wait, give it ten seconds.” The man’s hands were warm, and Zach let his fingers stay just a beat longer. They waited in silence, then they made eye contact again. Damn. Those eyes were just gorgeous. The man licked his bottom lip, wow, and pressed the power button. They both held their breath as the laptop whirred back to life. After a few seconds, the startup power chord sounded.

“Oh thank god.” They both relaxed back into their seats. As the desktop came back online, and all his windows opened back up, the man finally breathed a shaky sigh of relief. “Thanks, I was starting to freak out.”

“No worries.” Zach offered a soft smile. “Writing?”

Finally, a small, deprecating smile from Blue Eyes. “Yeah.”

Zach nodded politely, and went back to his book, trying to settle in and give his seatmate some space. They luckily had a seat free in between them, which Zach had rejoiced over when he found his row. But now he let himself daydream a bit that he’d been stuck in the middle seat next to this man, their thighs pressed tight together. He snuck another glance at the man at the window. His beard was maybe a week old, gray coming in patches, also appearing at his temples. He wore thick black framed glasses, a style which had been popular years ago. His sweater was a dumpy brown, but it looked warm and soft. His shirt underneath looked to be a white henley, neck stretched out from too much wear. His hands were quite nice, actually, and while the man seemed to not be too technologically savvy, his fingers still sped across the keyboard. He had a screen protector on, so Zach couldn’t really see what the man was working on. Maybe he was a professor of some kind, or maybe he was a reclusive novelist.

The man kept typing for the first hour or so, as Zach watched him off and on, surreptitiously, half paying attention to his book.

The man shook his head and murmured a “no, thanks,” when the flight attendant came by with the coffee. _Who would drink coffee on a ten hour redeye._ Well, Zach _had_ had some Coffee Bean before boarding, but that was for old time’s sake. And he wasn’t planning on falling asleep yet anyway, too much time to kill still before touching down in London.

He realized he wasn’t making any progress at all in his book, reading the same three paragraphs over and over and not remembering anything. He gave up and put the book back in his carryon under the seat. He glanced back at Blue Eyes. Maybe a nap and some daydreaming was in order.


End file.
